The following discussion is provided solely to assist the understanding of the reader, and does not constitute an admission that any of the information discussed or references cited herein constitutes prior art.
Corn is a major farm crop, resulting in large quantities of whole ear corn, as well as large quantities of corn cob following removal of corn kernels. Corn cobs are commonly used in animal feed, e.g., as roughage and/or filler. In addition, corn cobs or fractions derived from corn cobs have been used in several other applications. Thus, for example, in addition to corn cobs being used for livestock feed, the whole cobs or cob fractions have also been used for environmental remediation, e.g., as a pollution absorbent in marine oil spills, for domestic cat litter, for animal cage bedding, and for use in releasing lawn fertilizers and pesticides for example.
In addition to corn cobs and corn cob fractions, other plant derived materials with at least moderate liquid-absorbing properties have also been produced, for example, particles produced from almond shell husks.
Ethyl alcohol, i.e., ethanol, is a renewable energy source that has become increasingly popular as a fuel used either alone or combined with other fuels such as gasoline to produce “gasohol” for motor vehicles. Ethanol is routinely denatured for use as a fuel by adding any of a variety of soluble combustible organic compounds that render the ethanol undrinkable (e.g., methanol, isopropanol, acetone or methyl ethyl ketone).
Another well-known fuel is biodiesel that includes a number of fatty acid ester compounds. Typically, a biodiesel fuel is liquid and contains various fatty acid alkyl esters produced from vegetable oils and animal fats. In some cases, a biodiesel fuel does not have a particularly well-defined composition, since it is often derived from variable feedstocks (e.g., plants or animals). However, biodiesel and ethanol fuels are typically not combined with corn cob particles and/or other plant-derived particles.